1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to preventing undesired external key depression of a mobile device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, CD players, cassette players, MP-3 players, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like are now in widespread use. In fact, many people always carry two or more of these for personal and/or business use.
FIG. 1 is a view showing external keys of mobile devices for performing various operations. In order to prevent undesired key depression in carrying the mobile device, a locking key having a hold function may be attached thereto by hardware. Or, in case of a slide-type mobile phone which has been recently commercialized, a locking state is released only when a specific key is pressed for prescribed time, and then a key input for performing an operation is received.
In a mobile device which uses a locking key, if a user mistakenly fails to activate the locking key external operation keys may be inadvertently pressed and thus the battery may be completely consumed. In addition, releasing and re-activating a locking key repeatedly whenever a mobile device is used is an annoyance to the user.
To prevent undesired external key depression in a related-art device, a key may be pressed for a prescribed time. However, when a user carries the device in his or her pocket or bag, the key maybe inadvertently pressed for a time longer than the prescribed time in many cases. For this reason, the related-art method is not good for preventing undesired external key depression.